June 01, 2003

Bolshie women are a gift...

The role play during yesterday’s London Essential Midwifery workshop provoked some very interesting discussion. The scenario involves a midwife admitting a woman into the Labour Ward and in this case, the woman (played by Lynne Staff) asks the midwife (my role) ever so gently if she has to get on the bed for basic observations to be carried out. A challenge such as this to the midwife’s authority and skills may be a rare occurrence because women are generally so compliant and “will do as they are told”, especially in labour. However, every now and then, women do manage to speak up and ask for something “different”, especially if they have are well informed or, in the UK, have been to the NCT classes.

When this kind of request is made by a woman, often she is labelled as “one of those women” and the midwives may respond with defensive statements, such as “I’m not getting down on the floor - I have a bad back” or “I need to be able to check you properly, so you’ll have to get on the bed” or with a minifism, such as “just a few moments and you can get up again”.

We talked about some of these reactions in the workshop group, and one lovely midwife (Elke, from Germany) made the comment “bolshie women are so liberating for midwives”. This stopped everyone in their tracks because it was such a perceptive, yet different, view from the more usual reactions of midwives. She is right, of course. A woman who has given some thought to how she would like to give birth, who can be spontaneous and uninhibited in her responses to the power of the contractions and who is open to trying anything, is a gift for a midwife. This woman will enable a midwife to explore the wonderful possibilities of normal birth. Forming a close partnership will enable both to fly together, to take off on an adventure that is uplifting, rewarding and immensely satisfying for them both. This is the joy of midwifery, that inexpressible pleasure that comes from enabling a woman to discover her own power through the very personal journey that is birth. Elke knows this, and that is why she is an independently practising midwife, a role she has chosen so that she can really facilitate births in the best way possible for women.

Long live bolshie women! Where would we be without them? And long live midwives like Elke, who know the value of flying and appreciate the multiple possibilities of women’s bodies.

Posted by andrea at June 01, 2003 05:21 PM

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